Motor actuated drop-bottom hopper car doors



April 25, 1967 c. A. BEAVER ETAL 3,315,616

MOTOR ACTUATED DROP-BOTTOM HOPPER CAR DOORS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb.24, .1964

INVENTORS CHARLES A. BEAVER and O RODA/EY 6'. MURDOCK B I, Aw LA llorneyApril 25, 1967 c. A. BEAVER ETAL 3,315,616

MOTOR ACTUATED DROP-BOTTOM HOPPER CAR DOORS u. //v VE/VTORS CHARL 5 4.BEAVER and ao ga/sr E. MURDQCK Ap il 1967 c. A. BEAVER ETAL MOTORACTUATED DROP-BOTTOM HOPPER CAR DOORS 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 24,1964 4/! may M/VE/VTORS CHARLES A. BEA VEI? and f? DM EV E MU/PD CK km3. mm mv wn lwm 1 Din an QM April 25, 1967 c. A. BEAVER ETAL 3,315,616

MOTOR ACTUATED DROP-BOTTOM HOPPER CAR DOORS Filed Feb. 24, 1964 4Sheets-Sheet 4 RODNEY E. Mil/P006 26 tfarney United States Patent3,315,616 MOTOR ACTUATED DROP-BOTTOM HOPPER CAR DOORS Charles A. Beaver,Greenville Township, Mercer County, and Rodney E. Murdock, HempfieldTownship, Mercer County, Pa., assignors to Bessemer and Lake ErieRailroad Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Feb. 24, 1964,Ser. No. 346,655 8 Claims. (Cl. 105-248) This invention relates to arailway car and, in particular, to a hopper car adapted for thetransport of bulk material such as coal, ore and the like.

Drop-bottom railroad hopper cars are used extensively although theconventional design has certain disadvantages. One of these is thediificulty experienced in unloading material, particularly when frozen,because of the small angle of the doors when open and the limited sizeof the opening. Another is the considerable labor required to open andreclose the doors. It is accordingly the object of our invention toprovide a car structure which can easily be thermally insulated and isthus adapted for use of heating facilities to prevent freezing and,further, to provide unloading doors affording a large outlet when openunder the Weight of the load, having means for locking them in openposition and spring reclosing means operative when the doors areunlocked after the load has been discharged.

In a preferred embodiment, we mount longitudinal and transverse sheds inthe car body, dividing the lower portion thereof into cells orcompartments. A pair of doors pivoted on their adjacent sides from thebottom of each cell. Pivoted latches normally hold the doors in closedposition. Reclosing tension springs adjacent the ends of the doors arestressed as the doors open. Compression springs buffer the doors in thewide-open position. Ratchet-and-pawl locking means hold the doors open.Control bars slidable longitudinally of the car actuate the latches andthe pawls to effect the proper sequence of operations. When the pawls ofthe locking means are retracted, the springs reclose the doors.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from thefollowing detailed description and explanation which refer to theaccompanying drawings illustrating the present preferred embodiment. Inthe drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a partial plan view of a car embodying our invention;

FIGURE 2 is an elevation, partlybroken away, showing the doors open; 7

FIGURE 3 is a partial transverse section taken along the plane of lineIII-III of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a partial plan view of the parts seen in a horizontalsection of FIGURE 3, taken along the plane of line IVIV;

FIGURE 5 is a partial side elevation taken on line VV of FIGURE 3, withparts broken away;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 showing the doors and parts intwo alternate positions;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged detail of a pawl; and

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged detail of the bell-crank release.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, a car body 10 having sides 11and sloping end walls 12 is carried on a frame including a center sill13 and side sills 14. The frame is of conventional character and istherefore shown only in general. It is carried on standard wheeledtrucks, one at each end. The body has a central longitudinal shed 15 andspaced transverse sheds 16 dividing the bottom into cells orcompartments 17, the sides of which are formed by slope sheets 18. Sheds16 stand on spaced partition plates 16a. A secondary shed 19 3,315,616Patented Apr. 25, 1967 extends longitudinally of each cell, with itsends bearing on a transverse shed 16 or a sloping end wall 12.

symmetrically arranged doors 20 close the space at the bottom of eachcell 17. As shown in FIGURE 3, the doors are in the form of fiat platesextending from the edges of shed 19 to one of the sills 13, 14.Longitudinally, the doors extend from one shed 16 to the next or to anend wall 12. Each door has inner and outer margin plates 21 and 22attached thereto. A lagging 23 of thermal insulation extends over thedoors and margin plates. Similar lagging overlies end walls 12 and sides11 of the body and curtain plates 24 depending from the latter.Piano-type hinges 25 pivot the adjacent sides of doors 20 to the loweredges of shed 13.

Closing torque is exerted on each door by tension coil springs 26, oneat each end thereof. The upper ends of the springs are pivoted at 27 onstuds extending normally from partition plates 16a. The lower ends ofthe springs are pivoted at 29 to the ends of the doors adjacent theirouter edges. These edges are bent upwardly at a slight angle forengagement by depending latches 39 pivoted between spaced pairs oftransverse diaphragm plates 31 and 32 welded to sills 13 and 14,respectively. Latches 30 have curved leaf springs 30a thereon urgingthem away from the edges of doors 20. As shown in FIG- URE 4, there is alatch adjacent each end of each door.

Latches 30 are actuated toward the positions they occupy in FIGURE 3 byslide bars 33 and 34 movable longitudinally through holes and notchesformed in plates 31 and 32, respectively. The bars are slidable on anglebrackets 35 and 36 secured to plates 31 and 32, respectively, and havewedges 37 spaced therealong which normally hold the latches indoor-engaging position. When the bars are moved axially, however, sothat the wedges clear the latches, the latter are free to swing awayfrom doors 20, aided by the weight of the lading on the doors, releasingthem for downtilting. As the doors turn on their hinges 25, springs 26are progressively stressed.

At each end of each door 20, a sector ratchet 33 is mounted, concentricwith hinge 25. Pawls 39 pivoted to plates 16a cooperate with theratchets. As shown in FIGURE 7, each pawl has a compression spring 40 ina yoke 40a tending to set it. Springs 40 are compressed between theyokes and pawl 39. Pins 40!: extend through slots in the pawls and holesin the yoke permit the pawls to ride over the teeth of the ratchets asthe latter turn. A bearing socket 41 on each ratchet is adapted, as thedoor nears the fully open position, to engage a stud 42 projectinghorizontally from a bulfer slide plate 43. This plate is suspended froma compression spring 44 mounted on a bracket 44a carried by plate 16a.Plate 43 has a lateral extension 43a serving to guide travel of socket41. A bolt 44b extending through spring 44 suspends plate 43. Springs 44thus butler the fall of the doors as they approach the limit of theiropening.

After the doors have been fully opened under the weight of the load andlocked in open position by ratchets 38 and pawls 39, the pawls must beretracted to permit the doors to reclose. This is effected by bellcranks 45 pivoted in a horizontal plane to an angle 46 welded to thediaphragm plates 32 in side sill 14 and parallel thereto. The tongue 47of a bracket 48, pivotally connected to bell crank 45, extends laterallyover angle 46. The bell cranks are actuated from one position to anotherby striker blocks 49 spaced along slide bar 34. A toggle link 50 with acompression spring thereon holds bell crank 45 in one of its two extremepositions, as shown in FIGURE 8.

When the bell cranks are turned clockwise from the position shown inFIGURE 4, they pull brackets 48 outwardly thus effecting similarmovement of links 51 which are pivoted to the outer pawls 39 at 49b.Opposite links 53 pivotally mounted on plates 16a and pivoted 40 of theinner pawls are mounted on the pawls. When the locking engagement of thepawls 39 with the ratchets 38 is thus broken, springs 26 immediatelyreclose the doors. Thereafter, latches 38 are brought into engage mentwith the bent-up edges of the doors by longitudinal movement of bars 33and 34, through the medium of wedges 37. This movement also restoresbell cranks 45 to the position shown.

j movement is imparted to the inner pawls 39 by reversing to plates 51and connecting links 54. The yokes of spring bodiment of our invention,.we intend to cover as well 4 the spring tension decreases. While thedoors are open, the doorlatches are held out 'of the way by springs 30ato avoid interference with reclosing. The buifer springs 44 graduallyarrest the opening movement of the doors and prevent damage thereto orto their insulation as they drop to vertical position. i

Although we have disclosed herein the preferred emany change ormodification therein which may be made Slide bars 33 and 34 arerecrprocated by a transverse V shaft 55 journaled at the end of the car,through cranks 56 and cranks and pitrnan 57. Shaft 55 is turned by anelectric motor 58 through a gear reducer and a chainand-sprocket drive59.

The operation will probably be clear from the foregoing but will bebriefly summarized. 'Itwill be assumed that, initially, the doors 29 areclose-d and the latches 30 are in engagement therewith, being heldin'eifective position by wedges 37 on slide bars 33 and 34. In order todischarge the contents of body 10, motor 58 is operated by connecting itto any convenient source of electric 'current, until bars 33 and 34 havebeen shifted longitudinally so that wedges '37 move away. from latches30. Motor 58 is then stopped. The weight of the load on the doorsthereupon causes them to turn on their hinges 25, against the restoringforce exerted'by springs 26. As the doors turn down, pawls 39 ride overthe teeth of ratchets 38, and are effective to lock the doors open.approach the fully open position, sockets -41 engage studs 42 andcompress the butter springs 44,"as shown incha-in lines'in FIGUR 6. e

When the" car la'ding has been discharged, doors 20 may be effected byagain operatingmotor 58 to shift bars 3-3 and 34 further in the samedirection to actuate latches into engagement with the doors and blocks49 restore the bell cranks 45 to the illustrated pofsition. Thiscompletes a cycle of opening and reclosing the doors after rotation ofcrank shaft 55 through 180.

: 'It'will'be evident that our car structure has numerous advantages. Inthe first" place, 'all operating mechanism 7 V is ,above'the doorsleaving the car bottom clear'and unobstructed 'so that theinsul'atinglagging may be easily applied-to coverthe entire exterior. Themechanism, furthermore,'is'fully protected from the Weather and thelading by sheds 16. Secondly,'the doors aregreleased by As the doorsreclosin-g of without departing from the spirit and scope of the ihven:

tion.

We claim:

1. The combination with a car body including sides and ends and asupporting frame therefor includingspaced center and side sills, oflongitudinal and trans-' verse sheds dividing the car bottom intocompartments,

a secondary shed located centrally of each compartment and extendingparallel to said sills, a pair of doors disposed side-by-side in thebottom of each compartment,

hinge means at the lower edges of the secondary sheds pivotally mountingthe' doors on their adjacent edges'and pivoted latches depending fromsaid sills, respectively, adapted to engage the edges of said doorsopposite said adjacent edges. 7

2. The combination defined in by bars slidable along said sills havingwedges thereon effective to actuate said latches.

3. The combination defined in claim 11, characterized by tension springspivotally connected to said doors and tothe transverse shedsso as to bestressed on opening of said doors.

cause blocks 49 to trip bell cranks 45. This causes plates 51 and links54 to withdrawpawls 39 from ratchet-s 38 whereupon springs 26 reclosethedoors When the doors i have been closed, continued-operation of motor58 re ve'rses the movement of bars'33' and 34 until Wedges 37 powermeans for positivejopening under the weight of to prevent opening untildesired.

Opening movement of the doors is'butfered but, on re.-

be displaced by shock 'or vibration. The moment arm through which thereclosing springs act decreases as the doors open and the. spring stressincreases and, conversely, the momentarm increases as the doors closeand -4. The combination definedclaim l, characterized I by a sectorratchet upstanding on each of said doors and adapted to cooppawlspivoted to the transverse sheds crate" with said ratchets. I 5.'The'combination defined in claim 4, characterized by buffer meansmounted on said transverse sheds etfec-- V tive to arrest -downtiltingof said; doors and bearing means on said ratchets adaptedtoengages-aidbutfer means.

V 6, The combinationjdefined incl-aimQl', characterized by,pawl-retracting links extending normal-to the hinge axis of said doors.I r w, e 7. The combination defined inclaim 6, characterized by a barslidable along one of said sills and pivoted frner'n bersactuatcdbetween two extreme positions by said bar, i adapted to eifect movementof saidlinksf V a 8. The combination defined in claini'7, characterizedby toggle springs pivoted to said pivotedmembers adapted to bias themtoward either extreme position. 7 References citedib y the Eiaminer VUNITED STATES PATENTS 676,104 6/1901 1,900,753 8/ 1-911 Olden l05 -'24O1,035,389 7 8/1912 Seaberg 10 5 245 1,284,111f1 1/1918 Kestler l05--300X- 1,375,700 4/1921'. Ingoldsby. "-310. 3,188,980 6/ 1965 Tea'rpocket'al. 105245X. 3,192,876 7/196 5 Qrtner 105-284 FOREIGNPATENTS 244,365:3/ 1912 Germany. 380,645 .9/1923' Germany.

ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner. 3 V

H. BELTRAN, Assistant Examiner.

claim 1, characterized

1. THE COMBINATION WITH A CAR BODY INCLUDING SIDES AND ENDS AND ASUPPORTING FRAME THEREFOR INCLUDING SPACED CENTER AND SIDE SILLS, OFLONGITUDINAL AND TRANSVERSE SHEDS DIVIDING THE CAR BOTTOM INTOCOMPARTMENTS, A SECONDARY SHED LOCATED CENTRALLY OF EACH COMPARTMENT ANDEXTENDING PARALLEL TO SAID SILLS, A PAIR OF DOORS DISPOSED SIDE-BY-SIDEIN THE BOTTOM OF EACH COMPARTMENT, HINGE MEANS AT THE LOWER EDGES OF THESECONDARY SHEDS